A Test for Harpuia
by Mister Frodo
Summary: As Harpuia struggles with his feelings for Leviathan, he finds himself subjected to a test that could either enrich his love or demolish it... Please R&R!


**This is a brief one chapter story I thought up of as I was writing The Javelin. It takes place after Mega Man Zero 3 and is about romance more than anything else. Please R&R!**

"Hi."

Harpuia cleared his throat. He remembered Master X saying something about how Reploids couldn't get nervous. For once, Harpuia disagreed.

He briefly rejoiced in the fact that he couldn't sweat. Otherwise, he'd be standing in a puddle of perspiration right now.

"I know we've known each other for a long time…"

His hair got into his eyes. He brushed it away, annoyed at the distraction.

"We've fought a lot of battles together, and we've slain many Mavericks…and Reploids…"

_Idiot. What are you doing? Quit stalling._

"The truth is, um, Leviathan, well, I…"

He bit his lip. He couldn't make himself say the words. Even as hard as he tried, he couldn't do it.

He slammed his fist on the audio recorder, smashing the device into dozens of pieces. He hated himself for his stutter. Whenever he barked commands he could speak clearly and calmly, even with thousands of enemies surrounding him. But then when he tried to talk to her…

A knock came at the door. Harpuia swept the pieces of the busted audio device into a nearby waste disposer. The door to the room opened. Harpuia glanced up to see Fefnir enter the room and roll his eyes. "Thanks for letting me in. What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Harpuia moved over to the closet and withdrew his twin blades. "I'm going to go practice."

Fefnir knelt down next to his gun and started tinkering with it. "Whatever."

Harpuia hurried down the hall as if being chased. He needed something to take his mind of his feelings. Fighting in the training room always did that.

He reached the cool, dark chamber. The walls, made of super-durable steel, reflected his image. He studied the mirror image. A green-armored machine clutching two sword handles stared back. The face that looked at him from the reflection had a furrowed brow.

He shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus. He needed to be able to shut his feelings, however confusing, out of his mind.

He had just started to speak the command that would activate the chamber when another voice spoke.

"Hi, Harpuia."

He spun around on his heel. Leviathan stood in the doorway, spear in hand. "What are you doing?"

He tried to speak, but his voice failed him. He attempted communication again. "I was…I was…I was about to do a training program."

"Really? Odd. So was I." She grinned. Harpuia felt his will begin to deteriorate. "Want to train together?"

_Say no. She'll understand. You're a loner. You can't be near her, not right now. _But as much as he wanted to say no, all he heard coming from his lips was the word "yes."

"Good." Leviathan strode up next to him. "Computer, activate Training Level 5, Mission 7."

He stared at her. "That mission? Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I just want something challenging."

_She's toying with me. She knows what Mission 7 is. She wants to see what I'll do. Well, if that what she wants… _He activated his blades. "I'm ready."

"Alright. Computer, commence program."

Their surroundings changed. Instead of dark, clean walls, they now stood in a middle of a dense jungle. Harpuia dropped into a ready stance. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Spider Mavericks flooded the clearing. Harpuia and Leviathan stood back-to-back, facing the oncoming tide. Harpuia glanced back at her. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?"

With those words, they sprung into action. Harpuia stabbed an oncoming creature with his blades and then flung the disabled machine into the crowd, knocking out a few more enemies. He heard Leviathan scream and whirled around.

Leviathan had spiders all over her. Her javelin lay a few feet away. She reached for it, but the creatures pulled her back.

Harpuia roared and lunged at the spiders. An instinctive rage overpowered his normal calm in battle and he threw himself at Leviathan's attackers with no concern for his safety.

He never could remember what happened then. Next thing he knew he was standing next to Leviathan with scraps of the mechanical spiders littering the ground. She scooped her spear up from the ground and raised her eyebrows. "That was impressive."

He struggled to slow his breathing down. _Why did I lose control like that? That never happened when Leviathan and I fought together before! _"Thanks."

The spiders fled from the clearing. Leviathan swallowed. "Of course. The fun part."

Harpuia grasped his swords tighter. He stared as a gigantic mammoth of a robot burst through the trees. He sighed. "Yep. The fun part."

The giant robot shot a laser beam that scorched the ground in front of Harpuia's feet. He leapt onto the colossal machine and began hacking at its neck. It shook him off, sending him slamming into a tree. He jumped to his feet, but not before the mechanical monstrosity whacked Leviathan back. She flew back into the dense trees of the jungle.

"NO!" Harpuia charged at the massive robot. He sunk his blades into its body. The machine tried to shake him off, but he continued to plunge his swords deeper and deeper into the cold, robotic stomach.

Finally the machine fell. Harpuia let out a sigh of relief. Then he remembered about Leviathan.

He dashed into the trees towards the spot where she landed. _She could be hurt, or broken, or worse…_He reached the spot where she fell. But nobody was there. Just an indention on the forest floor. He glanced around. "Leviathan? Are you okay?"

"It's the third stage of the mission, Harpuia."

He turned around. Not fast enough. Leviathan bulled into him, knocking him to the ground. He leapt to his feet to face her, her spear in her hand. He gulped. _Of course. Stage three of Mission 7. The infamous duel between combatants._

She circled like a beast closing in on its prey. "You know we have to duel, Harpuia. And you know one of us has to win, or the program never ends."

He bit his lip. "I don't really want to fight you, Leviathan."

"What?" She grinned. That same old annoying, charming, "take-your-best-shot" grin. "Afraid you'll lose?"

_No. I'm afraid I'll win. _He relaxed and slid into position. "No."

"Good." She flipped over him and landed on one of the trees. He wheeled around just in time to see her coming at him. He dropped and rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging one of her blows.

He leapt to his feet. She came in ready for the strike. He noticed that her footing was off. She had a hole on her right side. Before when he fought her he would have taken that opening in an instant. But now…

She fixed her stance and, taking advantage of his hesitation, sliced through him. He slammed into the mud. She stared at him. "You had an opening. Why didn't you take it?"

_That's what I'm wondering. _"I…I must have missed it. Sorry."

He waited for her to offer him her hand. But she didn't. She just turned her back to him and sighed. "Computer, end program."

He got to his feet on his own as the room faded back to normal. "What's wrong? What are you doing?"

"You were _supposed _to hit me, Harpuia. I planned that opening." She looked back at him. "You didn't miss it. You just didn't want to hurt me."

"Now, wait, Leviathan, I—"

She waved her hand. He stopped.

She strode to the door, not even glancing back at him. "I'll see you later, Harpuia."

Harpuia bit his lip. He stood there, and briefly cursed the fact that he couldn't cry. If he could, he would be standing in a puddle of tears.

"Leviathan!" He ran to the hall. "Leviathan!" He looked out the doorway at the corridor. Empty.

He slumped against the wall. He had just been given a test. And, from what he could tell, he had failed it.

Failed it miserably.

He stared down at his feet. Slowly his speech from began to come to his mind, cold and clear. "Hi. I know we've known each other for a long time, Leviathan. We've fought a lot of battles together. Won wars. Lost wars. Slain Mavericks. Saved lives. But, this new thing I feel, about you…I can't explain. Master X said Reploids weren't designed to love. I think he's right. But, for whatever reasons, Reploids can _feel_ things. Things like love. I don't know what these feelings are, that I feel for you. Maybe they're just lust, longing, nothing more than desire. But, in truth, I believe they're something deeper…something much more special…"

He took a deep breath. "The truth is, Leviathan…"

He bit his lip. But he couldn't live without saying the words. So he forced them to come out, three words that told it all, that didn't need speeches or letters or anything…

Three simple, little words.

"I love you."

_Over and Out_


End file.
